Latino Daily News

Police Discover Remains of 6 People in Guatemala

Skeletal remains of six people were found buried under a vacant lot near the capital, the Guatemalan Attorney General’s Office said Friday.

Thursday’s discovery came after a nearly month-long search in La Arenera, a community 32 kilometers (20 miles) from Guatemala City where two pickup trucks containing human remains were unearthed in March.

Both finds were made during the course of an investigation into the Los Sierra Ovando gang, the AG’s office said in a statement.

The gang, whose members include current and former police officers, is responsible for kidnappings, armed robberies and at least 70 murders, the statement said.

Twenty-six reputed Los Sierra Ovando members are in custody pending a trial scheduled to start July 21.

The search for clandestine graves in La Arenera was spurred by information that came to light after several gang members were arrested, Deputy Interior Minister Eddy Juarez said in March.

Guatemala experienced 34 homicides per 100,000 residents in 2013, according to figures compiled by the Human Rights Office of the Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala City.